Educational Problems and Solutions
What do I do When …?
Here are some ideas for dealing with problems commonly encountered when teaching children with speech and language difficulties. Please note that this is not a definitive list and different children will find some strategies more useful than others. This really is a case of ‘first know your child’!
The child doesn’t understand what I have said
- Ask ‘Shall I say again’
- Repeat the instruction slowly and clearly ( but maintaining normal volume and intonation) .
- Check the child’s understanding of specific words or concepts that may be causing the difficulty.
- Use any relevant visual materials available to support what you are saying.
- Rephrase the instruction or question.
The child is stuck for a word
- Ask ‘Have you forgotten the word? Would you like some help?’
- Repeat what they have just said to give a lead – in to the word- e.g. ‘So high in the sky you saw a ….’.
- Ask the child to describe the thing they are thinking of. If necessary, you can repeat this too. ‘It‘s a thing to people can go in. It has an engine but no wings, it’s got a whirly thing on top and it is like a plane.’
- Ask ‘Is it a long word or a short word?’
- Ask ‘Can you think of the first word?’
- Give the child the first sound.
- Once the child has the word, repeat it and ask them to say it again. Reinforce both the phonological and semantic information.
I can’t understand what the child is saying
- Make sure that you are really listening and making the best use of any contextual clues there are – e.g. if they are talking about something in the playground, think ‘what might it be?’
- Say I’m sorry but I don’t understand .
- Say ‘Can you tell me more about it?’.
- See if the child can give you the first sound of any important words .( it is often a single word out of context that is difficult to understand.)
- Sometimes another child may be able to follow what you cannot. Ask the child if OK to ask one of their friends to help.
Other children copy or laugh at the way the child talks
- The solution to this partially depends on the frequency of happening. A single , one-off comment can be dealt with a firm ‘ No, that’s not a kind way to behave .’ Frequent or persistent comments will need a more concerted approach.
- Talk to the whole class about the fact that we all have things we find easy and things we find difficult. Use a range of examples and ask them for their own ideas. Talk about how it feels to find something difficult and what helps us to feel better. Discuss disabilities including speech and language difficulties.
- Talk to the child about what is happening and how they want it dealt with. As in all similar situations, they need to be encouraged to report incidents but they may require more support and time in order to do this effectively.
The child is socially isolated
- Look for genuine opportunities to praise the child in front of the class – e.g. ‘What a kind thing to do!’ or I noticed Michael worked very hard on his science today.’
- Include the child in praise where socially competent and popular children are also named – e.g. ‘ Sophie and Malik were particularly good at listening in assembly today.
- Pair the child with other children who are socially ‘on the edge’ and look for positive joint experience.
- Include the child in a game or activity with two or three other children which is supervised by an adult to ensure a calm positive atmosphere.
- Any standard activities designed to help with self-esteem can be used to help the child as long as they are adapted if necessary to allow for their communication difficulties.
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